


In With the New

by orphan_account



Category: The Book of Mormon - Ambiguous Fandom, The Book of Mormon - Parker/Stone/Lopez
Genre: Canon Compliant, I hope you like it!, first day in Uganda, for the BOM spring fling!, kind of?, platinic Arnold + Kevin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-04-29 23:11:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14483280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: “Oh. Well, that’s interesting. Uh, Kevin? You just wrote ‘MCR’ ten times.”“Um,” Kevin laughed awkwardly, before making an excuse to leave a few minutes later. Arnold, to no one’s surprise, followed soon after.(“Wow,” Davis later noted, “that was almost impressive.”)





	In With the New

**Author's Note:**

  * For [appleflavoredkitkats on tumblr!](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=appleflavoredkitkats+on+tumblr%21).



On Kevin Price’s first day in Uganda, he was already dying of heat and exhaustion. It wasn’t even that bad, but having so many energetic people in one small space was draining, to say the least. To make matters worse, his district leader was acting like those moms that were determined to be cool (but were, in doing so, not helping their case). Even so, Kevin was determined to plow through and make a name for himself. Besides, everyone had told him that they had each loved their mission - perhaps it would just take some settling in to get to the good, memorable part?

“Okay, everyone - take a pen and a piece of paper,” Elder McKinley instructed, spreading the materials out on the table with evident excitement. Kevin flashed the poor guy a sweet smile - he was pretty sure he could speak for the rest of the district in that they did not want to play party games. Back at the training center, they had all had their fair share of “bonding” exercises, and while Kevin was eager to participate, the others would stop trying to appear interested after the first minute or so. “To welcome Kevin and Arnold, I thought we could play a little introduction game!” 

Davis yawned pointedly, earning a harsh nudge in the side from Zelder. “Why?” he asked.

“Because,” the district leader began, “it’s going to be fun.” 

“Cool!” Kevin blurted loudly, awkwardly sticking his thumbs up. (And, well. Perhaps he was a little more exhausted from the flight than he thought, if the other elders’ stares were anything to go by.) 

“Okay! Basically, we’re going to write down some facts about ourselves to see what we have in common. Before we start, though, why don’t you go around the circle and say one fun thing about yourself?” Elder McKinley suggested, nudging Zelder to start. 

“Oh, hey. Well, I’m Elder Zelder - Davis, it’s not that funny - and I, uh. I hate clowns, I guess.” 

Davis stopped snickering and cleared his throat dramatically. “Very random but nice, Zelder. I’m Davis, and I have an inextinguishable passion for clowns.” 

Kevin choked on his water. For a person that was very rarely speechless, he was at a loss for words. Just - what? What on earth? He made scandalized eye contact with Arnold, who just shrugged.

 

“Thanks for that, Davis - that was horrific. I’m Michaels, and I think that Elder Davis is a menace. Also, I’m pretty indifferent to clowns.” 

The rest of the conversation faded because (despite telling himself that he wouldn’t), Kevin had already begun to spiral. These guys were polar opposites to the kids he was used to - how could he get work done and do something great when working with them? Some of them didn’t seem serious or focused or any of the things they were encouraged to be at home. He couldn’t help thinking that if he had been sent somewhere else, these problems could have been avoided. 

(On the spot, he ended up forgetting how he felt about clowns. Instead, he blurted out something about paint.) 

 

Once Elder McKinley was satisfied with their answers, he finally let them start the proposed activity.  
“For the first round,” he said, as if it were a real game, “you should write down your top ten musicians.” 

Kevin, in the hopes of getting Arnold to warm up to him, decided to write “MCR” ten times. (as a joke, he swore.) It was fine - whenever he got called, he could just say ten different artists in a random order. He had, of course, never been allowed to listen to My Chemical Romance, but he had heard funny things about them. Kids in eighth grade had tried to get him to listen to one of their albums once, which he had always found so amusing considering how most of that crowd seemed to otherwise turn their noses up at him. Besides, he and Arnold had mentioned the band in passing on the plane; it seemed like the perfect, most out-of-place thing to bring back.

The list, predictably, gained a laugh from Arnold once he showed it to him. Because his luck seemed to be permanently damaged, however, what he did not realize was that Elder McKinley was collecting them all to read aloud. 

“Oh no, Elder McKinley - hold on a second!” he exclaimed, trying to reach his sheet.

“Elder Price, is there an issue?” he questioned cautiously. 

“Um,” Kevin started, suddenly registering how silent the room was. “I think I made a mistake on there?”

“Oh, no worries!” the district leader replied, looking down at the pile in his hands. Curiously, he flipped through them to find Kevin’s, but as he was lifting it up, he paused. “Oh. Well, that’s interesting. Uh, Kevin? You just wrote ‘MCR’ ten times.”

“Um,” Kevin laughed awkwardly, before making an excuse to leave a few minutes later. Arnold, to no one’s surprise, followed soon after. 

(“Wow,” Davis later noted, “that was almost impressive.”)

\- - -

“Woah,” Arnold breathed once they were inside their room. “That was the best thing I’ve seen all week.”

“Yeah, right,” Kevin replied, flopping down onto his stiff single bed. “I’m staying in here for the next month, thanks.” 

“It wasn’t that bad,” Arnold reasoned. Kevin rolled his eyes and scoffed, still refusing to make eye contact. “Okay, maybe it was a little bad. But you’re going to do something awesome here, don’t you worry. Maybe you just had to embarrass yourself first.”

“Maybe,” he said, absentmindedly fidgeting with the stiff, frayed ends of his sheets. Arnold, unsatisfied with Kevin’s startling lack of confidence, walked over and sat himself down at the edge of his bed. Then, out of the blue, he enveloped his companion in the biggest bear hug he could give.

“Oh!” Kevin exclaimed as the air was knocked out of him.

“Listen,” Arnold began again, “you’ve worked so hard to be here. Tell yourself what you told me yesterday: you’re going to do something awesome!” Kevin shifted so he could see (and breathe) again.

“Huh. I guess that’s true,” he smiled.

“Of course it is,” Arnold beamed back, patting his shoulder. “I have your back - that’s what companions are for.” 

“Thanks, Arn,” he laughed. “You’re pretty cool, you know that?” 

“Of course I am. Now let’s get out there and start the best mission ever, shall we?” Arnold stood up and held out his hand for Kevin to grab, before hoisting him up and out the door. 

\- - -

Strangely enough, Davis’ antics and Thomas’ addiction to poptarts spiced up life at the hut. It didn’t matter what would happen in the days and weeks to come, because Kevin was convinced that he would never know anyone better than the elders of district nine (and the surrounding village). Together, they could put together their many strengths to make the most of their unexpected mission, and oh, what an interesting mission it would be.

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for appleflavoredkitkats on tumblr for the BOM spring fling 2018! (Sorry this wasn't posted earlier in the day - I hope it's still May 1st in your timezone.)  
> Have a fantastic May, Amelie!


End file.
